Introduction to
Behavioural Activation
8 key take-aways
• Depression is a clinical condition with 10
common symptoms. Not everyone with
depression will experience all of these
symptoms
• Unhelpful behaviours associated with
depression can include: avoidance, escape,
withdrawal, rituals, impulsive behaviour and
rumination
• Absence of positive reinforcement is the key
mechanism that maintains depression: the
less we do, the worse we feel; the worse
we feel, the less we do
• Depression is the result of missed
opportunities to connect with people and
things that can act as sources of positive
reinforcement by giving us emotional rewards:
pleasure, achievement and connection with
what is important to us
• To break the vicious cycle of depression we
need to be driven by purpose rather than our
low mood: rather than wait to do
something before we feel better, we need
to do something in order to start to feel
better
• Behavioural activation has four core elements:
• Functional analysis
• Activity scheduling
• Goal setting
• Relapse prevention
• The aim is to identify and reduce those
behaviours which are unhelpful and identify
and increase those which are enjoyable,
purposeful and rewarding
• The 4R’s of activity scheduling are: Replace,
Reinstate, Reduce, Restructure
5 Top Tips
• Keep a written calendar of scheduled activities
that are rated for enjoyment, achievement and
connection
• Break down more challenging activities into
steps
• Don’t try to fit everything in at once, pace
yourself
• Make the most of good feelings by creating a
box of objects with happy associations and
good memory cards
• Create a relapse signature by identifying:
triggers & warning signs, what activities are
most and least helpful, those around you who
can best support you